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About Moissanite
What is Moissanite Gemstone
What is Moissanite Gemstone
Moissanite is a gemstone born from the stars. It was first discovered in 1893 by a French scientist named Henri Moissan, who later won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered microscopic particles of the gem that would eventually bear his name in Arizona, in a crater created by a meteorite that fell to Earth.
Physical properties
The crystalline structure is held together with strong covalent bonding similar to diamonds,that allows moissanite to withstand high pressures up to 52.1 gigapascals. Colors vary widely and are graded from D to K range on the diamond color grading scale.
Trends Jewelry gemstone
As a gemstone used in jewelry, silicon carbide is called "moissanite" .
Moissanite is similar to diamond in several important respects: it is transparent and hard (9–9.5 on the Mohs scale, compared to 10 for diamond), with a refractive index between 2.65 and 2.69 (compared to 2.42 for diamond). Moissanite is somewhat harder than common cubic zirconia. Unlike diamond, moissanite can be strongly birefringent. For this reason, moissanite jewels are cut along the optic axis of the crystal to minimize birefringent effects. It is lighter (density 3.21 g/cm3 vs. 3.53 g/cm3), and much more resistant to heat than diamond. This results in a stone of higher luster, sharper facets, and good resilience. Loose moissanite stones may be placed directly into wax ring moulds for lost-wax casting, as can diamond,[78] as moissanite remains undamaged by temperatures up to 1,800 °C (3,270 °F).
Moissanite has become popular as a diamond substitute, and may be misidentified as diamond, since its thermal conductivity is closer to diamond than any other substitute. Many thermal diamond-testing devices cannot distinguish moissanite from diamond, but the gem is distinct in its birefringence and a very slight green or yellow fluorescence under ultraviolet light. Some moissanite stones also have curved, string-like inclusions, which diamonds never have.
